Air conditioning system for buildings



Ja'n. 30, 1940. F. c. cowDERoY-DALE 2,188,566

AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM FOR BUILDINGS Filed April 12, 1937 Patented Jan. 30, 1940 i UNITED STATES PATENT oFElcE Frederick c. cuwdemy-nule, Dallas, Tex. Application April 12, ls'z, serial No. lasso 4 Claims.

the year, being constructed to cool the air in the summer and to heat the'air in the winter.

An important object of the invention is to' provide an improved air conditioning systemfor a building, wherein a central conditioning chain ber is formed beneath the building and is constantly .supplied with fresh ain-with means for conducting the conditioned air to the various rooms of said building, whereby an effectivev circulation of the conditioned air throughout the structure is had; there being no return'of air from'the building to the central chamber. whereby only fresh air is supplied at all times to saidy chamber.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved means for cooling air to -be circulated through a building, wher'ein a conditioning chamber is located underground' beneath the building with means for supplying fresh air to is supplied to a central underground chamber i andis heated therein after whichpit isconducted through the building to heat the same.

Still another object of the invention is to pro-r' videan air conditioning system for a building.l havingl a central. room having a substantially circularshape with theremaining rooms of the building being located around said central room,` whereby it is possible to locate a central'airl conditioning chamber beneath the central room the rooms of the building.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will bel hereinafter described, together with other features of the invention.

'The invention will be more readily understood.

from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which an example of the invention' yis shown, and wherein: v Y. y

(ci. 'int-sa)` Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view oi a building having an air conditioning systemy constructed in accordance with the invention, and

Figure 2 is a floor plan'of the building.

In the drawing, the numeral I designatesV a central room of abuilding which is substantially octagonal in shape. As clearly shown in Figure 2, the other rooms I I, I2 and I3, as well as the room I`4.'are disposed around this central room. Suitable doorways` (not shown) establish communication between the central room and the other rooms of the building and with the floor plan shown, a most compact building is had. It is preferable that the improved air conditiouiug system heupplied to this type of building although it is not essential, as it may be utilized to condition the air of any structure.

A central air conditioning chamber or basement I5 is formed beneath the central room I0 of the building and as shown, this chamber is entirely underground. A fresh airduct or supply A conduit I B leads from the chamber and extends beneath the outer room I2 of the building to a sump or reservoir' I'I which is located adjacent the outer wall of the building. The upper end of the sump is open to the atmosphere to permit a fresh air to enter theconduitl or duct 'I6 and chamber I5, and the walls of said sump extend abovetheground level A, whereby water cannot )drain thereinto. A suitable grill I8 covers the open end of the sump to prevent extraneous mat, ter; from falling thereinto, while a suitablewduct screen I9 is disposed at each end of the duct I6. Thus, it will be obvious that outside fresh air may enter the duct and-flow into the conditioning chamber I5.

: Fordrawing the fresh air into the chamber I5, a suitable fan 20 is mounted in the inlet end of thel duct I 6 and acts to force fresh air into said chamber.

-During the summer when the system is used 'for 'cooling the air within the bui1ding, it is necessary to cool the air entering the chamber and for this purpose, a water pipe 22Y extends throughout the length of theduct iis above-.the same. This pipe has a plurality of nozzles whereby waterjmay drip down into the duct to keep the bottoni of the same wet at all times. The conduit i's slightlylinclined downwardly toward thechamber I5 topermitthe water therein to drain onto thefioor of Asaid chamber. One end of the-pipeoverhangs the 'sump'and hasaxiaucet or pet cock 23 therein, whereby-water maybe introduced into the..bottom ofthe ysump which depends below the outlet end of the duct, asis clearly shown' in Figure 1. v The opposite end of the water pipe 22 extends into the chamber or basement I5 and has outlet nozzle 24 connected therein, whereby water constantly drips onto the floor of the chamber, and manifestly, the iioor is damp or wet at all times during summer operation.

The fresh air which is drawn in from the outside by the fan 2U entersthe sump and flows through the conduit or duct I6. In its passage, this air contacts the Water standing in the sump I'I and also the wet bottom of the duct and is thereby cooled by evaporation by said water. Upon entering the chamber I5, the air contacts the wet floor of said chamber or basement and l is further cooled. Of course, since the chamber is underground its temperature is much cooler than the temperature above ground so that further cooling of the incoming air is affected by a heat exchange.

For conducting the cooled air from the basement or chamber I5, a plurality of registers or outlets 25 are mounted in the wall of said chamber near the iioor thereof. These registers may be of the usual construction and may be purchased on the open market. Each register is provided withthe usual shutter (not shown) or other closure means, whereby said register may be closed. Leading upwardly from each register. lis a iiue or conduit 26 which is located in the Wall of the building and the upper end of this flue communicates with a wall register 21 which is mounted in the wall of the various rooms near the ceiling thereof. The registers 2l may or may not be provided with shutters, as desired. Any desired number of iues 26 may be provided for each room but only one for each has been shown.

Manifestly, the freshV air which is cooled in traveling through the inl'et duct I6 and in entering the basement, is conducted upwardly through the registers 25 and ilues 26 and escapes through the registers 21 into the rooms of the building. It is noted that the cool air enters each room near the ceiling and will tend to flow toward the floor. The hot air in the room will of course, risetoward the ceiling and escapes therefrom through a vent 28 provided in the roof of the building, whereby the hot/air escapes to the atmosphere. The flow of air through the vent is controlled Aby a pivoted damper 29 which may be operated by a suitable mechanism (not shown) from within the room. Thus, cool fresh air is supplied at al1 times to the rooms of the building while the warm air within said rooms is constantly escaping through the vents 28, whereby.

a constant circulation within each room is set up# No refrigerating unit is required and the cost of operation of the unit for cooling the building is practically nil. The original cost of ,installation of the equipment is verylow as the mer operation. This moistened air enters the chamber I6 and is heated therein by a suitable enters the chamber, it admixes with the warm air.` therein and is heated. The inlet of cold outside air may be regulated by a damper I1' located atthe upper end of the sump Il.

Since the .hot air tendsl to rise it is not practical to introduce the same into the rooms of the building through the registers 25 and iiues 26, so the registers 25 are-closedlrluring winter operation to prevent the, escape of the hot air through the iiues 26. Toconduct the heated air to the rooms, a plurality of registers 3| are mounted in the wall of the chamber or basement I5 near the ceiling of said chamber and these registers are connected by conduits 32 with registers 33 mounted in the walls of the various rooms. Each of the latter registers is located in the wall of room at thefloor thereof, whereby the hot air entering the room rises therein to thoroughly heat the same. By moistening thefresh'air, the air is conditioned so as to make for increased .comfort to the loccupants of the building. During the winter operation, the dampers 29 are properly adjusted so as to control the escape of air from the rooms. It is desirable that they be slightly open to provide for a constant circulation of fresh air through the rooms of the building.

The entire system is most economical to install and operate andmay be easily changed from winter to summer operation or vice versa. above stated, the registers.25 are closed during the winter operation to allow supply of air to the rooms through the registers 33 and similarly, during summer operation the registers 33 are closed to permit air to be supplied through the registers 25 and 21. It is pointed out that while only one fresh air inlet duct is shown a plurality of such ducts may be used to conduct the fresh air into the central condition chamber or basement of the building. Although the system has been shown in a particular structure, it is evident that it may be applied to any type of house, or other building.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An air conditioning system for a building including, a central air chamber beneath said building, means for supplying fresh outside air to the chamber, means for cooling the air entering the chamber, means within the chamber for heating the air therein, a conductor communicating with the lower portion of the chamber for conducting the cooled air to the interior of the building, a second conductor communicating with the upper end of the chamber for conducting heated air from the chamber to the interior of the building, means for closing he first named conductor when the heating mea s is operating, and means for closing the other conductor when the air in the chamber is being cooled.

2. An air conditioning system `f or a building including, a central air chamber' beneath said building, means for supplying fresh outside air to the chamber, means for coo1lng.the air entering the chamber, means within the chamber forheating the air therein, a conductor communieating with the lower portion of the chamber for conducting the cooled air to the i'nterior of :the building, a second conductor communicating with the upper end of the chamber for conducting heated air from the chamber to the interior oi.' the building, means for closing the first named conductor when the heating means is operating,

means for closing the other conductor when the air in the chamber is being cooled, and a vent in the roof of the building for creating a constant circulation of air through the interior of the building Without recirculating the air from the interior through the conditioning chamber.

3. An air conditioning system for a building including, a central air chamber beneath said building, a duct for supplying fresh outside air to the chamber, means for 'cooling the air entering the chamber, means within the chamber for heating the air therein, a conductor communicating with the lower portion of the chamber for conducting the cooled air to the interior of the building, a second conductor communicating with the upper end of the chamber for conducting heated air from the chamber to the interior of the building, means for closing the first named conductor when the heating means is operating, and means for closing the other conductor when the air in the chamber is being cooled.

.4. An air conditioning system for a building including, a central air chamber beneath said building, a duct forsupplying fresh outside air to the chamber, means within the duct for moistening the fresh air, means for cooling the air entering Y the chamber, means within the chamber for` heating the air therein, a conductor communicating with the lower portion of the chamber for conducting the cooled air to the interior of the building, a second conductor conmiunicating with the upper end of the chamber for conducting.

heated air from the chamber to the interior of the building, means for closing the rst named conductor when the heating means is operating,

and means for closing the other conductor whenl the air in the chamber is being cooled.

. FREDERICK C. COWDEROY-DALE. 

